


a yellow-eyed man (and a green-eyed monster)

by holygolightly



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Has Anxiety, Angst with a Happy Ending, Date Night, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Insecure Alec Lightwood, Insecure Magnus Bane, Jealous Alec Lightwood, Jealous Magnus Bane, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane is a Little Shit, Misunderstandings, Panic Attacks, Sort of? - Freeform, Way less angsty than it sounds lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-14 20:46:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13015809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holygolightly/pseuds/holygolightly
Summary: "So let me get this straight. You were having a bad night but didn't say anything because you thought he was having fun with some seelie girl and were definitely jealous. Then he got drunk because he was having a bad night but didn't say anything because he thought you were having fun with Jordan and was definitely jealous. And then you two got into a ridiculous fight because you've both been too busy with your duties to discuss the fights you've been having about your duties?" Isabelle asked, rolling her eyes."I-yeah."





	a yellow-eyed man (and a green-eyed monster)

**Author's Note:**

> this is my malec secret santa gift for codeblackglitter on tumblr. this is my first shadowhunters fic so im sorry if it sucks! i tried to capture their voices as best i could. 
> 
> also this takes place after valentine is killed so i do mention the soul sword/seelie queen fiasco. however i really don't have a "side" in terms of what happened. they both made mistakes. they both had their own justifications. i just dont want it to seem like im biased one way or another, i just wanted to play on the guilt both of them would feel following everything that happened.

Alec understands how much this party means to Magnus, how much work he’s put into it. Alec just wishes that he was in more of a party mood. After three weeks of constant celebration following Valentine’s defeat, it’s a little hard to get into it. The first few nights, Alec was able to hold it together. Unfortunately, it seems that each party pulls Magnus farther and farther away. Rather than staying at Alec’s side, providing a barrier from the public, Magnus has taken to mingling with the other party guests as Alec hangs along the wall. He understands why, don’t get him wrong. Magnus _is_ the High Warlock. It’s his duty to assess the damage Valentine did and to form connections with the other downworlders in attendance.

That being said, the party seems to be getting more intense rather than dying down as Alec had hoped and he knows he’s going to have to abandon ship soon. The sounds of celebration have started echoing between his ears and his throat has begun to tighten. It would definitely be easier if Izzy or Jace were here. Even if they joke about his anti-social behaviors, they still would make sure he was okay. They know if they manage to drag Alec to a party, he’s very much going to be acting like their shadow throughout the duration of the night. The noises and unwelcome contact with the other guests always overwhelms him.

Alec knows Magnus would also completely understand Alec’s need for space...hell, Magnus was the one to explain anxiety to Alec in the first place. He had always just assumed the heart pounding terror he felt in loud, social situations was just an exaggerated shyness. Izzy had tried to talk to Alec about it a few times but Alec knows he mostly tuned her out. It was bad enough trying to be a gay shadowhunter, he didn’t want to acknowledge that he was broken as well. (And boy is Alec kind of glad Magnus wasn’t around to hear that. The ensuing lecture on how mental illness or anxiety doesn’t make someone broken is one Alec has already heard far too many times following his and Magnus’ first talk.)

The room is starting to feel claustrophobic and Alec knows his heart is beginning to pound but he still can’t fight the guilt that rises when he thinks about leaving. Magnus loves parties and would definitely stop throwing so many of he knew they were triggering Alec. Alec certainly doesn’t want Magnus to have to give up something he genuinely enjoys just because Alec can’t get his shit together. Plus, does Alec even have the right to ask that of Magnus anymore? Between everything with the soul sword and the seelie queen, Alec has been constantly worried about overstepping. He now knows what it feels like to lose Magnus and he’s not eager to experience that ever again.

Thinking about the watching Magnus walks towards that elevator just seems to make the situation worse, however. Alec is gasping slightly and his vision has begun to blur. He knows it’s going to become obvious very quickly that something's wrong with him to the other guests if he doesn’t get outside right now. He places his cup back on the table and begins to head towards the door. As he stumbles across the room, trying hard to avoid any physical contact with the hoards of people filling the loft, Alec scans the room in hopes of catching Magnus’ attention.  Unfortunately when he does manage to spot the warlock, he appears to be in deep conversation with a seelie girl. She is staring into his eyes and Magnus...Magnus looks lighter than he has in weeks. With each celebration and assurance that the downworld has survived, the weight seems to lift off his shoulders but now he looks almost carefree. His eyes are crinkled slightly and Alec can hear the faint sounds of his laughter over the beat of the song. Between the dim but colorful lights and the grip she has on Magnus’ arms (and wow does Alec love those fucking arms), their interaction seems oddly intimate and Alec has to turn away quickly to beat back the nausea he suddenly feels.

Logically, Alec understands without an ounce of doubt that Magnus would never cheat and not just because they love each other. Magnus just isn’t that kind of person, especially after everything Camille did to him. Magnus would never dream of putting someone through that. Emotions, however, aren’t prone to logic. Alec can’t help but think about all the issues he and Magnus have had lately. If this seelie can make him smile, lessen the burden Magnus has been carrying for so long, who is Alec to interfere? After everything Alec has done lately to add to the stress in Magnus’ life, the least he could do is turn away and let Magnus enjoy himself. 

So lost in his own thoughts, Alec doesn’t notice the vampire approaching him until the man grasps Alec’s arm lightly.

“Hey, I’m Jordan...are you okay?” 

It’s difficult to hear the man and Alec is so startled it takes him a moment to understand what he’s asking.

 “Uhh. I. Uhh” Alec stutters out, feeling the familiar burning in his face as a deep blush rises to his cheeks, embarrassed at being caught off guard while feeling so out of sorts.

 “C’mon, follow me.” the man suggests politely. He takes a hold of Alec's hand as he leads him through the crowd and outside. Alec eagerly takes some deep breaths as the cold, fresh air hits him.   

 “Woah, easy now. The air isn’t going anywhere, I promise. Just try to calm down.”

 “S-sorry. I don’t..I’m not-”

"Just relax. Don’t worry about it. The last thing I need is to accidentally kill Magnus Bane’s boyfriend. He doesn’t seem the forgiving type.”

 Alec knows the vampire is just trying to help him but all Alec wants is for Magnus to find him. Magnus knows how to calm him down faster than anyone else. He’s understanding, sweet, and more than Alec has ever deserved. But the vampire is right, Magnus isn’t the forgiving type and Alec has broken his trust so much recently that the shadowhunter doesn’t quite understand why Magnus is even still bothering with him. He can do so much better. He’s by far the most beautiful person Alec has ever laid his eyes on and is certainly not short on power either. How did a man so perfect end up with someone like Alec? An unremarkable shadowhunter who put Clave orders before the love of his life. A nephilim who can kill demons every night but apparently can’t make it through a fucking loft party without completely losing it.

 “Hey, hey. Slow down. Just focus on your breathing. Christ, this is a mess.”

Alec focuses his attention on the man kneeling (kneeling? When the hell did Alec sit down?) in front him. He’s pale, obviously, with sandy brown hair and light green eyes. He looks around 19 but Alec knows that he could very well be 219. Alec doesn’t recognize him or his name so he must not be from Raphael’s clan. He’s handsome, Alec supposes. Not nearly as stunning as Magnus but he has nice bone structure that Alec can appreciate. He continues with his observations as a way to distract himself. The man, Jordan, is wearing dark jeans with a purple long sleeve shirt. It has a slight v-neck and he’s wearing a gold chain around his neck. Alec’s mind instantly goes to myriad of necklaces Magnus had tried on before the guests had arrived, each more elegant than the next and surely costing more money than Alec would would see in his lifetime.

“Okay, good. You okay? Feeling better?”

“Y-yeah,” Alec says, clearing his throat.

“Here, take a sip.”

Alec gives the man’s glass a dubious look. He knows better than to accept random drinks from guests at Magnus’ party. Between those looking for him to “loosen up” and those unhappy with his relationship to Magnus in the first place, it’s certainly safer to avoid the risk.

“I promise, it’s just water. If I wanted to hurt you, I definitely wouldn’t have dragged you outside alone. I’m certainly not dumb enough to want try and hurt the High Warlock’s lover in his own loft and would have to be downright suicidal to do it after the man in question saw us together," Jordan explains, moving to sit next to Alec on the chair.

Alec recognizes the sound logic of the statement and reaches out for the cup, absently wondering when Magnus would’ve seen them together.

* * *

 Magnus misses Alexander. Between the fiasco with the soul sword and the seelie queen and now the constant celebrations, they've hardly had any time just for themselves. And it's not like Magnus is insecure or something, of course not. Centuries old, he certainly doesn't have time for something as trivial as insecurities. He's just...realistic. He loves Alexander, of that there's no doubt. But they have been under more than the usual amounts of relationship stress with no real time to work it out. Magnus understands why. As High Warlock and Head of the Institute, they don't have time to only think of themselves. The fact that their respective roles helped play a part in their fights isn't helping the situation, though.

At the very least Magnus wishes that Alec would stay with him during the party but he also understands why he doesn't. Alec worries that he'll mess up the downworlder relations and with how high strung everyone has been, his fears aren't exactly unfounded. It doesn't help that Alec finds these social interactions about as fun as Magnus finds Clave meetings. He just feels a little lonely without the nephilim by his side.

Which is, of course, a little ridiculous. They're both grown men, they should be perfectly fine with a little distance between them. Unfortunately, just because something _should be_ doesn't mean it is.  Before everything with the soul sword, Magnus was damn near ready to ask Alec to move in with him. Not that he wasn't ready now, he just doesn't know if it would be a welcome invitation.

Though obviously keeping the sword a secret even for a little while was a mistake, Magnus knows he isn't blameless in the situation either. There's been too many nights where Alec's haunted expression as he walked towards the elevator has kept him up. Plus after the seelie queen's betrayal, it's been hard to act as if he maintained the moral high ground. He's beyond pleased they're back together but he also knows they need to sit down and have a serious, detailed discussion about how to prevent something like that from happening again. 

That being said, now is neither the time nor the place for it. As the High Warlock, Magnus has taken it upon himself to throw each of their "celebration" parties as a way to check up on each corner of the downworld in New York. It's important during a time like this that all voices are heard and everyone's story is told.

That's why he currently has a more-than-a-little intoxicated seelie girl clutching to his arm. She's slurring a bit as she tries to tell a story about a werewolf who got caught in one of the fae circles not that long ago and Magnus is trying desperately to get her feet back beneath her properly. He can't help but chuckle a bit as he helps her adjust, happy to know that the largest problems facing the downworld at the moment are the same petty mishaps that have been around for centuries, rather than a bigoted monster trying to kill them all.

As his amusement begins to die down, he scans the room in hopes he can find Alexander. He knows how anxious his nephilim can get at parties when he's left on his own for too long and wants to make sure he's still doing okay. Of course, when he spots him it's a very different story than he was expecting.

Magnus is by no means a small man but Alexander easily towers over most everyone in the room at his 6'3 stature so it's not hard to spot him weaving through the crowd. What really catches Magnus' eye, however, is the vampire leading Alexander towards the balcony by his hand.

Just as Magnus has no time for insecurities, he surely has no time for jealousy either. The twinge in his gut that accompanies the sight of his boyfriend stumbling after an admittedly handsome gentleman is nothing of import, of course. Magnus itches to follow them, just to make sure everything is okay but he quickly talks himself out of it. Alec is his own person and it's nice to see him socializing. (Why are they holding hands though? Alexander hates physical contact with strangers at the best of times, parties especially.)

It doesn't help that Magnus knows the vampire attached to his boyfriend. Jordan has a history of being flirtatious and promiscuous. But surely the younger man wouldn't be foolish enough to flirt with Alexander inside his loft, correct? It'd be hard to imagine anyone could be that stupid.

Rather than imagine the different possibilities, however, Magnus decides the best solution would be to loosen up a little. It's his party, he should be allowed to relax. If Alexander wants to branch out, who is Magnus to stop him? 

Magnus casts one more look to the balcony, both Alec and Jordan sitting on one of the lounge chairs sharing a drink, before he heads off towards the bar.

______________       ______________      ______________     ______________       ______________     ______________     ______________    _____________

Unfortunately, by the time Jordan and Alec have made their way back inside, Magnus has had more than his fair share of drinks for the night. He's unsteady on his feet and more than a little uneasy about the situation. Magnus is avoiding looking at his boyfriend and the vampire, instead choosing to pour himself another one, when he realizes someone is trying to get his attention.

"Magnus, hey...hello? Mags? What's up?"

Magnus turns towards the voice and finds Alexander standing almost directly behind him, eyeing this empty bottles in front of Magnus with a worried expression.

"Alexanderrrrrr," Magnus drawls, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth, "nice of you to make your way back inside. Got bored of the vampire?"

"What? I don't- what are you talking about?" Alec says, genuine confusion lacing his voice.

"Oh, c'mon. You don't have to lie. You're allowed to mingle. Go, be free. Don't worry about me." Magnus slurs, wide gestures following his words and causes his cocktail glass to spill slightly.

"Okay, why don't I take that," Alec says, reaching for the glass, "I think you've had enough for tonight."

"No, I really don't think I have." Magnus counters, pulling the drink towards his chest.

"C'mon, Mags. Let's just cool it, okay?"

"Oh, are you here to play shadowhunter? Going to tell us lowly downworlders what we can and cannot do?"

"What the hell, Magnus? That's completely unfair and you know it" Alec argues, hurt in every word.

Magnus knows he's right, too. Alec is just trying to look out for him. But Magnus also knows there's a lot that they need to talk about and work on, and in his drunken haze, now seems like as good a time as any.

"Oh, unfair? You mean like how you hid as soon as the party started to avoid having hard conversations with the other downworlders?"

"Okay, I have no idea where this is coming from but you are being completely ridiculous right now. This is not the time or the place to have this conversation and you know it. Why are you acting like this?"

"Maybe I want to have this conversation here and now. Why is it so unreasonable to want to have an honest discussion with my boyfriend?"

"Because we're in the middle of the goddamned party _you_ insisted on throwing and you're making the guests uncomfortable."

"So it's now my fault we haven't had time to talk and not the fact that you've been avoiding this conversation for days? And if they're so uncomfortable like you say, they can leave!"

The lights suddenly come on and the music cuts off abruptly, "EVERYONE OUT!" Magnus yells, the cry seeming to echo off the walls of the loft.

The guests grumble and complain as they leave but each of them knows better than to try and argue their way out of it.

"Look, they're gone. Now are you ready to talk?" Magnus practically sneers.

"No. No, I'm not. By the angel, Magnus what the hell has gotten into you? You weren't like this earlier."

"How would you know? You spent half the night talking to that vampire?"

"Jordan? What has Jordan have to do with any of this?"

"Oh, he's Jordan now? That's nice" Magnus says, sarcasm dripping from his words.

"What? That's just his name. And you were talking with that seelie girl anyway!"

"Am I not allowed to talk with allies now? I'm trying to find out the extent of Valentine's damage but sure! Next time I'll just stand around like your warlock pet!"

"You are so out of line right now. I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"So leave!" Magnus yelled, opening a portal back to the institute next to the shadowhunter.

"Fine, I will." Alec said, hurt and anger warring on his face before he stepped through.

Magnus closed the portal after him and headed back to the bar.

* * *

 Alec steps through the portal and heads straight to the training room. He has no idea what the fuck just happened back in the loft but he knows the best way to work out his frustration is on the punching bag. He doesn't even bother to wrap his hands before he starts, letting his mind go through the last hour to try and figure out what caused the change in Magnus.

He knows Magnus was right, he has been avoiding hard conversations with both Magnus and the entire downworld but it's not just because he feels guilty. Whether they felt it was justified or not, the seelies and warlocks broke the accords by siding with Valentine and Alec knows that bringing that up when the downworld is still reeling from the Clave's betrayal in regards to the soulsword could have disastrous results. 

Both sides having broken the accords could be the boost they need to rewrite them to be more equal and just, but it's unlikely either side will see it that way at first. There's a rough couple of months coming up in terms of politics and diplomacy and Alec admits to trying to avoid it for as long as possible.

Alec's avoidance, however, doesn't explain what happened with Magnus and Jordan. All Alec and Jordan talked about after Alec got over his episode was different ways of treating anxiety. Jordan apparently used to suffer from some pretty severe panic attacks but it stopped being a problem after he was turned. They had just compared notes on the best ways to calm down and avoid triggers.

So why would Magnus, who is always pushing Alec to talk about his anxiety and what he needs, be upset about that? Surely he wasn't _jealous_ of Jordan...

Alec's thoughts were interrupted as Isabelle entered the training room.

"Hey big brother. What's got you so worked up?"

"Why do you think I'm worked up? I'm fine."

"Really? Because you're supposed to be at Magnus' party getting ready to kick everyone out so you can have hot makeup sex and instead I find you beating the shit out of that thing at 2:30am."

 "A) Can you please stop bringing up my sex life all the time? You're my sister. It's weird. and B) I was at Magnus' but I don't know. We had a fight."

"You don't know if you had a fight or you don't know why you were fighting?"

"Oh no, I'm definitely sure we were fighting. I'm just not sure what could've prompted it."

"Well, why don't you walk me through what happened and maybe we can figure it out" Isabelle said, grasping Alec's arm and leading him towards the bench in the corner of the room.  
  
"So the party had just started and Magnus was going around talking with everyone. I ducked out towards the side of the room because-" 

"You hate people and don't know how to hold a conversation with people you don't know?"

"I-yes. And then I don't know. I started to get...overwhelmed."

"Oh Alec. Did Magnus give you a hard time about that? I swear, high warlock or not I'll kick his ass"

"No, no. Of course not. He would never."

"Then what? Did you tell him?"

"No.."

"Well, why not, Alec? You know he wants to know that shit."

"I also know he was having fun. He was laughing with some seelie girl. I didn't want to bother him."

"You know how upset he'd be if you called yourself a bother."

Alec looked away, knowing she was right but unwilling to admit it.

"Okay, if you didn't tell him, what did you do?"

"I was trying to go outside because fresh air normally helps and this vampire, Jordan, must've recognized the signs and he helped me out"

"Jordan? Jordan Draeher?"

"Uh-I don't know? Does it matter?"

"What'd he look like?"

"Um. Light brown hair. Green eyes. Shorter than Magnus. I don't know. Why?"

"Nothing," Izzy said, a knowing look on her face, "what happened next?"

"Jordan and I stayed outside for a little while, apparently he used to have panic attacks and stuff too. And then we started to get pretty chilly so we headed inside."

"Where was Magnus during this time?"

"He was, apparently, drinking the entire bar."

"Oh shit. Was it a bad night?"

"I don't know!! He didn't say anything to me but he was. In a bad way by the time I got inside"

"What'd you do?"

"I tried to get the glass from his hand, told him he'd probably had enough. Then he started yelling about how shadowhunters can't tell downworlders what to do, that I had been unfair to avoid talking to everyone, and to go hangout with Jordan."

"Shit, what the hell?"

"Right?! I don't know what prompted it. But then I told him the middle of a party wasn't the time or the place for that conversation and so he kicked everyone out."

"So definitely a bad night then."

"After everyone left he told me to go hangout with Jordan and I told him that he wasn't talking to the seelie girl anyway so it wasn't like he needed me..."

"Alec."

"I know, okay? But I was mad. Then he called himself my warlock pet and I told him I wouldn't talk to him if he was gonna be that way and he opened the portal to the institute."

"So let me get this straight. You were having a bad night but didn't say anything because you thought he was having fun with some seelie girl and were definitely jealous. Then he got drunk because he was having a bad night but didn't say anything because he thought you were having fun with Jordan and was definitely jealous. And then you two got into a ridiculous fight because you've both been too busy with your duties to discuss the fights you've been having _about_ your duties?" Isabelle asked, rolling her eyes. 

"I-yeah."

"I swear, you boys are the dumbest creatures. How you haven't all gone extinct is beyond me."

"But why would he be jealous of Jordan? He's Magnus bane."

"He's still human. Or yknow, half human. Plus if it's the Jordan I'm thinking of, he's a notorious flirt."

"But he's _Magnus._ "

"So tell him that when you see him tomorrow."

"Wha-oh shit. Tomorrows date night."

"Wow. Don't look so scared about getting laid, big brother. You've done it before."

"Ew, Iz. Enough."

She smirked at him before becoming serious again. "What's worrying you?"

"What if he doesn't show up?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm being serious. What if he's still mad"

"He'd still show up and you know it."

"...What should I do? I want him to know he's special. That he doesn't have to worry about anyone else."

Isabelle was looking at him, fondness in her eyes before a mischievous look came over her.

"Ohh, I know what you can do."

* * *

 Magnus wakes up and immediately regrets it. The lights are too bright, the house smells like alcohol and sweat, and his mouth is drier than the goddamn Sahara. A shrill ringing echoes across the loft and makes him realize what woke him in the first place.

He groans as he stands from the living room lounge chair (what's the point in having a three thousand dollar bed if he doesn't even sleep in it?) and digs through the empty bottles to find his cell phone.

"What." He states, voice scratchy and hoarse.

"Rough night, bane?" Catarina asks.

"Hurgughhuuh" the male warlock grumbles.

Catarina laughs, loud and uncaring of the headache pounding behind Magnus' eyes.

"I'm surprised lover boy let you sleep in after that stunt you pulled last night."

"I-what?"

"Oh, do you not remember?"

"Wait. How do you even know anything that happened last night? You weren't even there."

"Yeah, but Raphael and I were gossiping about you this morning."

"Why am I even friends with you?"

"Someone has to be friends with your drama queen self. Be happy any of us out up with you, especially your nephilim."

"Dare I ask what happened?"

"You really don't remember?"

"Would I be asking if I did?"

"Jeez, someone's touchy this morning."

"Catarina, please."

"Fine, fine. Sources say-"

"Sources? Really? And I'm the drama queen?"

"Do you want to know what happened or not?"

"Sorry, sorry. Go on."

"Well, as I was saying. My sources tell me that the shadowhunter ran off with some sloozy vampire on the balcony while you dealt with the seelie limpet, you then decided to drink your weight in malt liquor, and when the runed boy came back in to stop you, you guys got into a screaming match. Apparently..."

Magnus tunes her out as she continues her tale, as the memories from the night before come rushing back (along with a fresh wave of nausea at the thought of just how much alcohol he managed to consume last night.)

"Ughghughu" Magnus groaned out.

"You okay there?"

"Dammit Cat. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"I mean...do you want like a list or-"

"Enough, thank you."

"You asked...but honestly, don't get too worked up. I'm sure you'll think of some way to win him back by tonight. That boy is absolutely besotted with you."

"Oh shit. Tonight's date night." Magnus rushes to check the time and quickly groans to himself again. It's already 1:30pm. He has like four and a half hours until he's supposed to meet Alexander and he hasn't even showered yet. Magnus goes to tell Cat he has to go but when he checks his phone, she's already hung up.

(Magnus swears he can still hear her laughing at him, though.)

Magnus knows he overreacted last night and wants to apologize but he also knows that the emotions behind his outburst were so very real. They need to sit down and talk as High Warlock to Head of the Institute but for tonight, tonight they can just be two boyfriends trying to have a nice night. Plus, he can take this opportunity to remind Alec just who Magnus is. 

And luckily, Magnus has just the outfit for it.

* * *

Alec feels absolutely ridiculous. He's been standing on the institute's steps for the past ten minutes trying to decide if he's really going to go through with this.

He, for once, let Izzy choose his outfit and he completely regrets it. The shirt is a silky purple material, with a white diamond pattern all over it. He knows she bought it for him like three years ago and now it feels tight and uncomfortable. 

Not only is he standing there wearing something that feels like it's going to burst off, but he's also holding a huge, colorful bouquet of flowers. Luckily he was able to talk Isabelle out of trying to write a poem for Magnus, as well. 

He's pulled out of his musings by just about the last thing Alec expected.

It's Magnus. Now, Alec has come to expect a new look from Magnus whenever they go out. He's always beautiful but sometimes his look just stuns Alec entirely.

Magnus now though is beyond anything Alec could've expected.

He has purple tips to his hair, a long purple sequined coat, ankle boots, and tight leather pants. 

But that's not it. Of course it's not.

There's a motorcycle. He's on a _fucking motorcycle._

It's like every single one of Alec's wet dreams right there in front of the institute. 

"Wh-uh-hm. What?" Alec stutters out. His face is absolutely on fire and he wouldn't be surprised if he was actually drooling.

"You okay there?" Magnus asks, smirking.

"You look-uhm. Here" Alec says, thrusting the flowers in Magnus' face.

"Oh. Wow. They're beautiful. Thank you, Alexander." Even Magnus now has a light pink coloring to his cheeks. "And might I add that that shirt is simply exquisite on you."

"Oh. Uh. Thanks. Thank you. But you. Wow. You look really. Uh. Nice." Alec cringes as he chokes out the last word. Nice? Fucking nice? Magnus looks like the every fantasy Alec

has ever had and he uses the term nice?

"Oh, well don't be too hard on yourself. Nice is as good a compliment as any"

And oh wow Alec didn't think his face could get any hotter but the knowledge that he just mumbled that shit loud enough for Magnus to hear feels like it's actually going to burn him.

"Have you ridden on a motorcycle before? Y'know, besides in one of your fantasies."

"Uh. N-no. Never."

"Well," Magnus swapped the flowers in his hand for an extra helmet, "put this on and come sit behind me. Hold onto my hips, okay? I'll keep you safe" he said, smirking slightly.

Alec can feel his heart pounding but he trusts Magnus and slips the helmet over his head. Getting onto the motorcycle itself is a bit awkward but sliding in behind Magnus and gripping his hips just feels..right. At least now Alec doesn't have to worry about whether or not Magnus will actually show up. 

______________       ______________      ______________     ______________       ______________     ______________     ______________    _____________

 As they walked into the restaurant, Magnus started in on a long explanation on the history of how sandwiches were invented during one of Magnus' gambling matches. (Alec still doesn't know whether or not to believe him. He prefers to take each of Magnus' stories with a grain of salt. 

Once they sat down, however, the conversation seemed to quickly die down.

"Magnus...I'm sorry, you were right. I had been avoiding the hard conversations with the rest of the downworld and as Head of-"

"Now, this may seem a bit...unfair, since I am the one who forced this topic in the first place but how about we hold off on the politics? Just for right now? We can talk about what happened last night still but let's talk as boyfriends, and we can talk as Head of the Institute and High Warlock later on?"

Alec won't deny the relief he felt at Magnus' suggestion. As much as Alec knew they needed to discuss it all, he had been stressing for hours about how to possibly have an in-depth, nuanced political discussion in the middle of their date night surrounded by mundanes. 

"I-yeah. That sounds good, thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't apologized yet."

Alec quickly shook his head, hating the idea that Magnus could feel guilty for being upset. "You were having a rough night. You never have to apologize for that."

"I do when I take it out on you. I didn't tell you that I was stressed and then acted completely out of line. I'm certainly old enough to know better."

"C'mon, don't take all the blame here. I should've recognized the signs. You were quieter than usual and you started mixing drinks before the guests had even arrived. I should've asked you what was wrong but I was too caught up in myself to notice. And then I completely ditched you the second I started to feel anxious and that's-"

"Woah, woah wait. You were feeling anxious? When? Are you okay?" Magnus asked, eyes bright with concern.

Alec blushed when he realized what he admitted. He knew he would have to talk to Magnus about what happened eventually but he wasn't planning on bringing it up so soon. "Oh, yeah. Uhm. It wasn't that bad, really. I just, I don't know. I was overwhelmed and it was so crowded and I just..let my mind wander too much. That's actually why I was talking with Jordan in the first place. He noticed I was having a rough time and helped get me out."

"And then I yelled at you for it, like a total ass." Magnus said, still concerned but obviously angry with himself as well.

"No, no. It wasn't like that and you know it. I should've come talk to you once I started feeling that way like you asked me to. You didn't have all the facts."

"You were hurting and I let my jealousy get the best of me."

"Actually...that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean, I just. I can't imagine any reason for you to feel jealous. You're...amazing. You're the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Someone like Jordan could never, never change that."

"Trust me, I was as surprised about the jealousy as you were. I guess I was just feeling...concerned about whether or not this was all too much for you. If maybe this was too much effort," Magnus admitted, voice soft.

"It, you, could never be too much effort. I love you."

"I love you too."

"To be honest, that's actually why I let Izzy dress me up. To show you that you were always worth a little extra effort."

"I assume that darling Isabelle was also responsible for the flowers?"

"Uh..those were sort of my idea? Though i did refuse to add a poem."

Magnus' laughter echoed through the small dining establishment as they settled in for a nice meal.

* * *

 

Coming back to the loft with Alexander in tow truly felt like coming home to Magnus.

As he passed by the flower arrangement he had sent to the apartment earlier, he couldn't help but reflect on the last time he received something of the sorts. It had to be over a century ago but leave it to Alexander to fix that. 

Alec turns towards the warlock and kisses him softly on the lips before pulling back slightly. With their foreheads resting together, Alec whispers "how about you take off your makeup while I run a bath?"

Magnus' heart flutters at the suggestion. While normally such a situation would lead to a long night of sensuality, Magnus knows they're both too tired for something like that. Instead he can already picture how the night will go.

Alec will sit on the edge of the tub, hand in the water. He'll make casual conversation to avoid distracting Magnus too much as he removes his makeup. (He can use magic to do it, but much prefers to do it by hand.)

Once the water is the right temperature, they'll both strip down and settle in together. They'll take turns trading lazy kisses while washing each other. Once the water runs cold and their skin starts to prune, they'll dry off and head to bed.

Slipping on a pair of boxers, they'll settle in for the night. Magnus will hold his darling Alexander in his arms once more and in the morning they'll finally have the conversations they've needed to for some time now. But for now, now they could just be together.

"That sounds amazing," Magnus whispers back. 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> hope it didnt suck! happy holidays! if there are any other malec prompts yall have, my tumblr is daddy--oreo.


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